Quebec is reporting 85 additional deaths linked to COVID-19 today, bringing the total number to 4,069 since the beginning of the pandemic. Premier Francois Legault says 42 of the newly reported deaths occurred more than seven days ago in Laval, a hard-hit city north of Montreal. The province now has 47,984 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 573 cases compared to Sunday. With a heat wave forecast for Montreal this week, the province says it's trying to come up with a plan to keep seniors in long-term care homes cool while avoiding more outbreaks. Legault says he's happy the province m

After photos of Toronto park this weekend showed people packed together with little regard for physical distancing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians have a responsibility to follow public health rules to slow the spread of COVID-19. He says any reopening of public spaces and restoration of economic activity will have to happen gradually and carefully, with each community tailoring restrictions to local circumstances. PM Trudeau avoids responding to a few questions directly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau avoided responding directly to questions about why the Liberal party is using

Ontario says it has appointed hospitals to take over the management of two long-term care homes that have been unable to contain COVID-19.The province says Humber River Hospital will manage Downsview Long Term Care Centre, which has reported 52 deaths, up from 40 just a week ago.Southlake Regional Health Centre will manage River Glen Haven Nursing Home in Sutton, a 119-bed facility where there have been 20 deaths and 54 confirmed cases.The orders last for 90 days, but the government says they can be extended, if necessary.The government says that the homes have been receiving supports from th

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he'll push the provinces to give workers 10 days of paid sick leave a year as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. That appears to meet a key demand from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in exchange for the New Democrats' support for a motion to limit sittings and votes in the House of Commons through the summer. Singh laid out the demands on Monday morning, shortly before a small number of members of Parliament returned to the House of Commons to begin debate over the future of parliamentary sittings for as long as several months. The debate will revolve

Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged people to get tested for COVID-19 if they wanted to, while admonishing Torontonians who crowded into a popular downtown park yesterday. Ford said the only way to reach testing capacity in the province is for people to get tested, and said asymptomatic people will not be turned away at assessment centres during a televised address today. The new directive for asymptomatic people to get tested is a marked change from earlier guidelines that said only people displaying symptoms are able to be tested. Ford said the province will also unveil a new testing strategy th

Federal political parties are tapping into the emergency wage subsidy program to avoid laying off their staff as donations dry up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Liberal and Conservative parties have both been approved to receive the 75 per cent wage subsidy. The NDP and Greens have both applied but have not yet been approved. The Bloc Quebecois says it has not applied for and does not need the subsidy. Under the $73-billion program, the federal government will cover 75 per cent of wages, up to $847 per week, per employee, for eligible companies and organizations. The program was initially i

Quebec is reporting 65 new COVID-19 deaths today, bringing the total to 3,865. Deputy premier Genevieve Guilbault said Quebec has 46,141 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 646, with 13,819 people recovered. She says the province has 1,479 people in hospital with the virus, a decrease of 25 patients. Culture Minister Nathalie Roy announced that libraries, museums and drive-in movie theatres can reopen across the province as of May 29. She says that in libraries, book and document lending will be the only services allowed to reopen, and the public won't be able to circulate beyond the

Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer wants Parliament declared an essential service so a reduced number of MPs can resume their House of Commons duties amid the COVID-19 crisis.Scheer says his Conservatives are proposing a motion to do that because he says daily briefings by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from his home are not good enough to hold the government accountable.He says MPs need to be able to ask questions on behalf of their constituents across the country.Scheer says today that up to 50 MPs should be allowed in the House for "normal" sittings, starting Monday, and that 18 of them should

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will fund provinces' efforts to test people for COVID-19, track the contacts of those who test positive, and help different jurisdictions share data.Trudeau says the measures are essential because COVID-19 remains a serious health threat and the economy can't fully recover until Canadians are confident that the novel coronavirus will be contained anywhere new it breaks out.He says federal contact-tracers are helping public health authorities in Ontario and are ready to make thousands more calls a day when any province asks.He says Ottaw